New program helps patients potentially get disability benefits faster

Feb. 7, 2025 -- Reid Health has partnered with Epic and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help qualified patients receive potential disability benefits sooner.

The joint program allows the SSA to pull patient records directly from Reid -- powered by Epic's electronic health records software -- reducing the amount of time it takes to process a patient's application for disability benefits by several days.

"Previously, each of these requests would have required our staff to seek out the records themselves and send those along to the SSA," said Julie Morrison, Director of Revenue Cycle Management for Reid Health. "This new program removes that step and makes it so there are fewer hurdles between our patients and the help they need."

Not only does the change speed up the application process, it also makes it more accurate. SSA disability decisions are based on a patient's complete medical history. Being able to exchange records in real time using Epic makes it less likely for there to be an omission that could disqualify a patient's application and require them to file an appeal.

A 2022 SSA inspector general report noted, "SSA prioritizes adding partners who use Epic electronic health record software because Epic provides broad support for the data elements the SSA needs to make disability determinations."

"By streamlining claims processing, Reid's new interoperability with SSA will reduce wait times and administrative hurdles for patients while easing stress during a challenging time," said Rob Klootwyk, Director of Interoperability at Epic.

"Previously, each of these requests would have required our staff to seek out the records themselves and send those along to the SSA. This new program removes that step and makes it so there are fewer hurdles between our patients and the help they need." -- Julie Morrison, Reid Health Director of Revenue Cycle Management